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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 803 _ Filed 08/05/25 Page3of9
release of grand jury records is appropriate even outside the boundaries of Rule
6(e)(3). In re Craig, 131 F.3d at 102. Importantly, “the discretion of a trial court in
deciding whether to make public the ordinarily secret proceedings of a grand jury
investigation is one of the broadest and most sensitive exercises of careful judgment
that a trial judge can make.” /d. at 104.
In re Craig involved a petition by a doctoral candidate to unseal the nearly 50-
year-old grand jury testimony of a high-ranking government employee, Harry Dexter
White, based on historical interest in White’s suspected role as a communist spy. The
court in In re Craig denied the petition to unseal. On appeal, the Second Circuit
affirmed the trial court’s denial of the petition, finding that the court did not abuse
its discretion when it found that sufficiently exceptional circumstances did not exist
to warrant disclosure. fd. at 100-01, 107.
In affirming the lower court’s denial of the motion to unseal, the Second Circuit
acknowledged historical interest as a potential basis for disclosure and offered a non-
exhaustive list of factors that a trial court might consider when confronted with
ruling on a motion to unseal. Jd. at 105-06. Those factors include, but are not limited
to:
(i) the identity of the party seeking disclosure; (ii) whether
the defendant to the grand jury proceeding or the government
opposes the disclosure; (111) why disclosure is being sought in
the particular case; Gv) what specific information is being
sought for disclosure; (v) how long ago the grand jury
proceedings took place; (vi) the current status of the principals
of the grand jury proceedings and that of their families; (vii)
the extent to which the desired material—either permissibly
or impermissibly—has been previously made public; (viii)
whether witnesses to the grand jury proceedings who might
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Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00015089.jpg |
| File Size | 738.3 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 94.3% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 1,979 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 18:52:37.764123 |